That left the stock at its highest level since April 15. What’s significant about that: The shares now have recouped nearly all of what they lost in the aftermath of the Securities and Exchange Commission's civil fraud case against the bank.

Goldman’s investment in Facebook obviously puts the bank in prime position to lead an initial public stock offering of the firm when that day comes.

But Reuters’ Felix Salmon questions whether Goldman’s stake, and its plan to create a “special purpose vehicle” to allow its well-heeled clients to invest in Facebook, pushes the timetable for an IPO farther into the future rather than bringing it forward.

Facebook clearly has no need for capital (a prime motivator for IPOs), has plenty of liquidity options for existing shareholders and still could avoid many public company hassles outside of the financial filings (no need to meet with analysts or hedge funds, do quarterly earnings calls, etc). In fact, one even could argue this deal makes an IPO less imminent.

Mark Zuckerberg clearly has no desire to run a public company, and he might be tickled by the idea that shares in Facebook, like his personal information on Facebook, are available only to a certain group of friends. The SEC can force him to disclose certain corporate information. But it can’t force him to go public.